Detective will give tips on Internet predators
A Spokane police detective who regularly trolls the Internet for online child molesters will give parents tips Tuesday night on how to keep their children safe.
Detective Jerry Keller’s 7 p.m. presentation at Browne Elementary School, 5102 N. Driscoll Blvd., will teach parents how to become computer literate enough to talk to their teenagers about dangers on the Internet.
Among other topics, Keller will explain five steps that predators use to lure children away from their homes for sexual exploitation. As a countermeasure, he’ll talk about the importance of keeping computers in a central room.
Police say Keller also will provide handouts with additional information, including one that asks the question, “Is myspace.com harmful to your teen?”
Baby-sitting will be provided for the free meeting, which is expected to last about an hour. Officer Teresa Fuller said another meeting, for students, will be offered in the future.
– John Craig
Police say argument led to man’s death
One man is dead and another is in custody following a drunken fight Wednesday night at a Sunset Hill apartment that also injured two others, authorities said.
Facing charges of second-degree murder in connection with the 9:45 p.m. attack at 2804 W. Seventh Ave. is 51-year-old Frank W. Neeland, according to the Spokane Police Department. The Spokane man was found covered in blood near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Coeur d’Alene Street.
Dead is a 38-year-old man whose identity has yet to be confirmed, police said.
The injured were a 44-year-old woman, who suffered a stab wound to her hand, and a 38-year-old man who suffered a cut to his face.
Their identities were being withheld by police. Both reportedly were treated at a Spokane hospital, then released.
Investigators believe all were intoxicated and arguing about membership in an Alaskan tribe when the confrontation turned bloody.
– Staff reports
Manito Park hosting holiday lights show
Starting today, more than 20,000 holiday lights will decorate the Gaiser Conservatory at Manito Park in Spokane for a 10-day public viewing.
The annual show from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. through Dec. 17 highlights lots of seasonal plants, including the conservatory’s historic Christmas cactus and dozens of poinsettias, as well as the conservatory’s permanent collections of succulents and tropical specimens.
The show is free to the public and is put on by the Spokane parks and recreation department and its employees as an appreciation gift to the community. Donations are accepted near the entryway. Best viewing with the smallest crowds normally occurs on weekday evenings just after sunset.
The Friends of Manito is hosting open houses with refreshments Saturday and Sunday from 4 to 7:30 p.m. in the meeting room east of the conservatory.
– Mike Prager